Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

The best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The growing influence of tall building apartments in our lives has sparked various debates. This issue is particularly significant because of its impact on large cities effecting both individuals and communities. In this essay, I'll discuss the advantages of tall buildings and apartments in it.

One of the key benefits of tall buildings is Conjustted space. This is evident by the fact that tall buildings play a vital role in the society. Various studies have shown that large building apartments shows the improvement of the community. Additionally, an other advantage of apartment buildings is to make more space for more accommodation. Therefore, the causes of buildings should be considered with greater significance.

However, relying on tall building apartments blocks presents significant drawbacks. That compromise long term quality of life. High density living can foster social isolation, disconnect residence from nature and limit access to private outdoor spaces like gardens and playgrounds. Too many people in one tower can cause traffic jams and crowd local schools and hospitals. Medium density options like town houses and mid-rise buildings provide plenty of houses while keeping neighborhood friendly, walkable, and human scaled.

Furthermore, alongside the benefits there are several effects of tall buildings. One significant effect of tall buildings apartments is lack of resources like water and electricity and maintenance due to large families living in the buildings. This is particularly evident in situations where my friend is living in an apartments where he faces issues like noise and maintenance problems of the building and also there's not much privacy. These issues impacts both individuals and society thus, it is essential to implement strategies to adress these issues effectively.

In conclusion, i believe that tall buildings apartments has both advantages and disadvantages which should be considered. Moving forward, it is important to optimize the benefits of tall buildings to ensure positive outcomes for individuals and society as a whole.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the pros and cons of tall apartment blocks. However, the position is not clearly established or maintained throughout the essay. While you mention both sides, the argument lacks depth and specific supporting evidence. For instance, the claim that tall buildings 'play a vital role in the society' is vague and lacks elaboration. The ideas are somewhat repetitive, particularly in the fourth paragraph, which overlaps with points made earlier. To improve, ensure each paragraph focuses on a distinct, well-developed argument that directly supports your overall stance on whether this is the 'best' way to provide housing.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow between and within them is sometimes disjointed. While you use some cohesive devices like 'Additionally' and 'Furthermore', their usage is occasionally mechanical or misused, such as 'Therefore, the causes of buildings should be considered'. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the progression of ideas feels repetitive rather than building toward a conclusion. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs needs more careful planning to ensure that each sentence logically follows the previous one to create a cohesive argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'Conjustted space' (likely meant 'congested') and 'causes of buildings'. You rely on basic vocabulary and struggle with collocations, such as 'tall building apartments'. Some words are used incorrectly, which occasionally forces the reader to infer your meaning. To improve, focus on learning topic-specific collocations related to urban planning and housing, and ensure you are using words in their correct grammatical context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'tall buildings apartments has'), incorrect pluralization, and punctuation errors. For example, 'That compromise long term quality of life' is a sentence fragment. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately without missing relative pronouns or auxiliary verbs.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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